WHO Pakistan welcomes South Korea in fight against COVID-19

KARACHI: The Government of the Republic of Korea has announced that it will be providing its kind assistance worth USD 300,000 via the World Health Organization in Pakistan to support Pakistan’s response to the outbreak and spread of COVID-19.

Korean investing companies have also contributed to this cause, with companies such as K-Water, KOEN, and KOICA providing an additional USD 47,000 to Pakistan for COVID-19.

In a meeting with Dr Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Pakistan; the Ambassador Kwak Sung-kyu stated that “the Government of the Republic of Korea hopes that this assistance will be instrumental in controlling the current spread of the pandemic in Pakistan and further supporting the healthcare sector to cope with rapidly increasing COVID-19 caseload.”

COVID-19 case numbers have been increased exponentially across the country in the past few weeks. As of today, Pakistan has reported over 10,513 cases of COVID-19 and a total of 224 deaths. A further increase in cases is anticipated to place an extraordinary burden on existing healthcare facilities in Pakistan and support from countries like South Korea are necessary to strengthen the country’s existing response capacity in priority areas such as surveillance, case testing, management of cases as well as communications with the public on effective prevention measures.

The Representative of the World Health Organization in Pakistan, Dr Palitha Mahipala, shared that “the WHO highly appreciates the valuable support made by the Government of the Republic of Korea. Such support will enable the WHO to scale up its response activities to COVID-19 alongside federal and provincial national authorities and counterparts, especially in light of the prospect of an increased caseload in the coming weeks.”